Month: September 2025

OB Staff Report / September 24, 2025

With fewer than 24 hours before the San Diego Planning Commission considers the bait-and-switch Midway Rising proposal, only a handful of comments have been posted via the Commission’s web-based Public Comment Form. A Public Comment Spreadsheet revised yesterday shows five comments, and four of them support the project.

So let’s get to work! The link to the Public Comment Form is:

https://www.sandiego.gov/planning-commission/agenda-comment-form

Fill in the Contact Info blanks — red asterisks indicate required fields — the Meeting Date is 09/25/2025, the Comment type is Agenda Comment, Agenda Item Number is 2, and Position is Opposition.

By Michael Smolens / SD U-T / Sept. 21, 2025

The California Legislature recently passed another major bill to spur development in an effort to tame the cost of housing by boosting supply.

The concept behind Senate Bill 79, building high-rises around transit centers, is one that many people support, though the inclusion of nearby single-family home neighborhoods in the targeted areas has drawn unsurprising opposition. The bill, now on its way to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, was also hotly disputed because it can override local zoning ordinances.

Another approach, however, should start getting the kind of attention these types of pro-development efforts have garnered for years: preserving existing lower-cost housing.

The city of San Diego is moving toward launching an innovative program to create a fund to purchase affordable apartments before they are turned into market-rate housing (and potentially out of reach for existing residents) or torn down to build more luxurious abodes.

This isn’t an either/or argument. Construction of new homes is needed across California in the appropriate places — an important point — and along transit corridors is one of them. The controversy tends to be over what constitutes a transit corridor.

By Eric Law / September 23, 2025

Everyone needs a place to live. We are bombarded with the idea that there are far too few houses, the available housing is very expensive, and we need to build a great deal more to drive prices down and availability up. Everyone agrees that housing affordability is a problem, even if they don’t agree on why.

But how much is enough? How many new dwellings do we need to build to get the housing market stable, where supply and demand reach an equilibrium?

The answer is surprisingly achievable and likely far less than the city, county and state assert.

Using data from the US Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey and housing market measures from the economic analysis firm Moody’s, San Diego has a current shortfall of about 25,200 housing units. Using expected population growth figure from the state, San Diego needs to build about 42,600 units over the next decade to reach a housing market equilibrium on par with that across the remainder of the country.

While that may seem like a great deal of required building, it’s very achievable at a normal building pace. To place this requirement in context, San Diego issued over 9,000 residential building permits in 2023, many for multifamily dwellings with multiple units. This means that the city will reach a balanced housing market in 5 years at this building pace.

By JW August / Times of San Diego / September 22, 2025

If you play the Torrey Pines or Balboa Park golf courses, you’re probably aware of how difficult it is to get a good tee time, especially for slots on Thursday through Sunday from the early morning to noon.

It’s a common problem across municipal courses in Southern California, and a new federal indictment provides insight into the disappearance of weekend morning tee times within seconds of being released.

The possible reveal to the mystery of the vanishing tee times can be found in a grand jury document filed this month in Los Angeles, alleging that two men started a brokering business using digital devices to reserve thousands of tee times for resale at numerous golf courses nationwide.

In doing so, they allegedly created “a monopoly of Los Angeles and Orange County area golf course tee times by securing the most sought-after early morning slots, often within seconds of their release to the public.”

By Jennifer Van Grove / The San Diego Union-Tribune / September 22, 2025 

The comprehensive land-use plan behind the $3.9-billion Midway Rising project proposing to remake San Diego’s 49.2-acre sports arena site with thousands of apartments, a replacement arena and new shops is slated for its penultimate review.

Thursday, Sept. 25, the city of San Diego’s Planning Commission will weigh whether to recommend to City Council adoption of the Midway Rising Specific Plan, certification of the associated environment impact report and approval of a development agreement. City staff are recommending approval of the proposed actions, which also include a general plan amendment, community plan amendment and rezone to residential mixed-use.

The proposed changes would allow building heights that max out at 250 feet for a portion of the site and support a total of 4,254 residential units, or 2,088 more units than what is allowed under the existing community plan, according to agenda materials prepared for the Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission’s decision is expected to tee up final consideration of the land-use documents by City Council later this year.

Kelly Hessedal / CBS8 / September 19, 2025

Darwin, a python involved in the “Read to a Reptile” program at the Ocean Beach Library was found on Friday after disappearing two days ago.

“I was really getting very worried. I wasn’t sure we would get him back. I’m so happy to have him back!” said Librarian Camille Hyatt, Darwin’s owner.
The four foot long snake has been a popular draw to the library for the past two years. People stop in just to say hello to him.

Darwin disappeared Wednesday afternoon while Camille was on her lunch break. She returned to find his glass enclosure empty, It was locked, just the way she had left it, but Darwin was not inside. Camille had left the key on top. She admits she had been too trusting.

“At first I thought maybe he had got out, I panicked for sure,” she said. “He’s never even tried to get out before. I figured out pretty quickly he wouldn’t have gotten out. I rushed off to my co-workers who also love him. We were looking everywhere, all over the library, just in case. But we figured somebody must have taken him.”

From Mission Hills Heritage

Mission Hills Heritage (MHH) is beyond pleased to present its 18th Annual Historic Home Tour, featuring for the first time ever a gala soiree the evening before the tour to kick off the festivities, to be held on September 26th and 27th, respectively. This year’s theme is Spanish Architectural Styles of Mission Hills, which has not been featured on the home tour collectively as a style in over 10 years, and the gala event, “A Night in España,” appropriately follows suit.

“We really wanted to bring our members and the community a special event, beyond our typical wine and cheese party, something that feels magical,” says gala steering committee and board member Jennifer Machian.

To make this fundraiser a reality, MHH has partnered with Lewis & Fay, a beloved gourmet grocery and specialty gift shop on West Lewis Street, known for their culinary centered experiences with locally inspired gatherings. MHH is also thrilled to welcome the chef collective from Oliver & Rose— featuring Adriana Sanchez, Isabel Cruz, and Tami Ratliffe— who will bring their talents to create a truly one-of-a-kind Spanish themed evening.

One of the leaders of the group, Protect Point Loma, released this statement:

Our group has continued to stay busy, vigilant and also attending other coalition meetings in other neighborhoods while also carrying the torch to the finish line.

We are getting to the final steps of filing a lawsuit against the city for 1004 Rosecrans.

Ground-breaking begins for controversial Rose Creek Village

Shovels overturned some dirt in eastern Pacific Beach. It was the ground-breaking for a controversial 5-story apartment building that will reverberate throughout San Diego’s coastal zones, called the Rose Creek Village at 2662 Garnet Avenue.

It’s controversial because it’s the first development allowed to breach the sacrosanct 30-foot height limit in the coastal zone — and the City and County of San Diego along with the State of California have all conspired to allow this to happen. And all these levels of government are doing this for the grandiose purpose that the building once completed will offer 60 homes earmarked for seniors, families, and individuals earning between 30% and 60% of the area’s median income, along with the dedication of 18 units specifically for homeless veterans.

Now who wouldn’t allow this? Who would oppose this worthy project?

Our simple answer: the tens of thousands of San Diego voters who approved the 30-foot height limit for the coastal zones in 1972.

At one point, about a year ago, San Diego City Councilmember Joe LaCava, who represents the Pacific Beach community, sought to kill the project.

An online petition has been started in the hopes it will motivate the City of San Diego to install a lighted pedestrian crosswalk at Catalina Blvd. and Varona St. in Point Loma.

Begun by Sarah Mathy, the petition at Change.org, has, at this writing, 436 signatures.

It reads:

Install a Lighted Crosswalk at Catalina near Pt. Loma Little League & Parks

The Issue

The intersection of Catalina Blvd. and Varona St. in Point Loma is the frontage road to Pt. Loma Little League and Pt. Loma Park. There is a constant flow of vehicle traffic on Catalina in front of the parks’ entrances from surrounding workplaces, PLNU, and sunset/beach traffic.  These parks are vibrant hubs of local activity, where little league baseball games, summer concerts, and various recreational activities take place.  Hundreds of people are crossing Catalina  each week to access the parks.

Unfortunately, despite the high foot traffic, this vital intersection lacks a lighted crosswalk, making it dangerous for pedestrians, especially our children. The nearest crosswalks are a quarter mile away, which forces families and park visitors to take unnecessary risks crossing without any safety measures. This safety concern is personal to me and many in our community, as it directly affects our day-to-day lives.

Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach says the city allows developers to change the face of the community without any public input.

By Dorian Hargrove/ CBS8 / September 18, 2025

The city of San Diego will soon have to defend its ADU program in court.

A Pacific Beach community group, Neighbors for a Better Pacific Beach, filed a newly amended complaint Thursday, Sept. 18, against the city, claiming the law has paved the way for unchecked, unbridled development and environmental harm in San Diego neighborhoods.

Their lawsuit now seeks to overturn the city’s ADU program, limit the number of new units in single-family zones, and require public input for larger ADU projects.
Originally filed on Aug. 15, amended to challenge projects citywide, claims city staff are unlawfully fast-tracking dozens of dense, apartment-style ADU projects without any environmental review or public notice.